Baltimore Orioles GM Hints at Returning Timeline of Former All-Star Pitcher

The Baltimore Orioles could see the return of a former All-Star pitcher soon.

Sep 18, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher John Means (47) delivers a / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles added to their pitching rotation this year, giving them an exciting group of arms. Injuries had other plans, though, as their group has not been fully healthy yet.

Mike Elias, general manger of the Orioles, spoke on the return of a former All-Star pitcher.

John Means has pitched in just six games over the last two seasons because he had to undergo Tommy John surgery in 2022 which kept him out until September 2023. He could be making his return to the MLB soon, though.

"I don't want to paint myself in with a date or something like that. Suffice to say we're looking at a spring time activation with him hopefully. This month or next is how things are trending," Elias said according to Steve Melewski of MASN.

The expected return for Means will be late April or early May.

He's joined on the injured list by Kyle Bradish, both starting pitchers who are currently completing rehab work. Despite missing those two players, they have had one of the best rotations in the league.

Baltimore's pitching staff as a whole is currently ranked seventh in the league entering Saturday with a 3.48 combined ERA. They are also a Top-10 staff when in comes to strikeouts and hits allowed.

Means' last full season came in 2021 where he had a very solid 3.62 ERA. His last full year before that was in 2019, when he was named to the All-Star team. The big part of his game that helps him is the fact he just doesn't really walk batters that often. The Orioles are already a team that has walked the fewest batters this season, another feather in their cap.

After trading for Corbin Burnes and having the pitching staff perform at a high level while not healthy, Baltimore should be very excited about what the season could look like in a few weeks when they get some of their top arms back.